At the invitation of the Polish Geological Institute – National Research Institute (PGI-NRI), a Vietnamese delegation visited Poland to discuss potential cooperation in geological research.

On 19 September 2025, the Polish Geological Institute – NRI hosted a delegation from the Republic of Vietnam led by Trần Quý Kiên, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of Vietnam. The guests also included Trịnh Hải Sơn, Director of the Vietnamese Institute of Earth Sciences and Mineral Resources, with whom the PGI-NRI signed a Cooperation Agreement in 2023.

Group photo of talk participants: Nguyễn Quốc Cường (Coordinator of Vietnamese-Polish cooperation at the Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in Poland), Trịnh Hải Sơn (Director, Vietnamese Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources VIGMR), Krzysztof Szamałek (Director of PGI), Trần Quý Kiên (Deputy Minister, Ministry of Agriculture and Environment of Vietnam), Nguyen Truong Giang (Head of the Office of the National Council for Mineral Resources Assessment), Đào Bùi Din (Deputy Head of the Geological Division, Department of Geology and Mineral Resources of Vietnam)

The visit officially began with an address by Professor Krzysztof Szamałek, Director of the PGI-NRI, who presented the Institute's structure and activities. This was followed by a presentation of the research potential of the Institute's units in the context of possible cooperation. Katarzyna Derkowska, PhD (Department of Raw Materials Policy) discussed the analytical and research capabilities of PGI-NRI. Ewa Krzemińska, PhD, head of the Micro-area Analysis Laboratory, presented the unique capabilities of the SHRIMP ion microprobe for dating volcanic and carbonate rocks, and Maria Przyłucka, PhD, Eng., (Geohazards Centre) presented the landslide monitoring system used in Poland.

Director of the PGI-NRI, Prof. Krzysztof Szamałek, receives a gift from Trần Quý Kiên, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment of Vietnam

Ewa Krzemińska, PhD, presents the SHRIMP laboratory

The Vietnamese delegation expressed interest in analysing the proposed ideas for possible implementation in selected regions of Vietnam. The meeting ended with a visit to the SHRIMP laboratory, a tour to the Geological Museum and a formal dinner.

Visiting the PGI-NRI Geological Museum. From the left: Visiting the PIG-PIB Geological Museum. From left: Trịnh Hải Sơn (Director, Vietnamese Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources VIGMR), Krzysztof Szamałek (Director of the PGI), Trần Quý Kiên (Deputy Minister, Ministry of Agriculture and Environment of Vietnam)

Visiting the Geological Museum

In the following days, PGI-NRI organised a field trip for the delegation, during which the guests were accompanied by Jarosław Zacharski from the Department of Regional and Deposit Geology and Radomir Pachytel, head of the Foreign Cooperation Department. The trip included a visit to the drill core storage facility in Leszcze, a visit to the Bełchatów Coal Mine and a tour of the Wieliczka Salt Mine.

Visiting the salt mine in Wieliczka. From the left: Jarosław Zacharski, Đào Bùi Din, Nguyễn Quốc Cường, Trần Quý Kiên, Krzysztof Galos (Undersecretary of State, Chief National Geologist), Trịnh Hải Sơn, Nguyen Truong Giang, Radomir Pachytel

Delegation during a visit to the core storage facility in Leszcze

We sincerely thank to Damian Kałużny, Technical Director of the Bełchatów Coal Mine, and Damian Konieczny, Executive Director of the Wieliczka Salt Mine, who enabled the delegation to visit the mines.

Text: Radomir Pachytel